British Gas have stated that more than 50,000 Britons have started using its apps in order to control their heating, in the same week as Google have spent £2.5 billion on ‘smart’ home appliance maker Nest. Since the launch of the ‘smart’ thermostat, Hive Active Heating, last September – more than 10,000have it installed in their home, with tens of thousands having the earlier ‘Remote Heating Control’ product installed.

Both of these products allow for their customers to control their heating via a smartphone app while Hive also lets people control their hot water. It is estimated by British Gas that the products could help consumers save up to £150 a year on energy bills. News of the products’ success comes the week after Google acquired Nest Labs, a company founded by Tony Fadell, a former Apple executive dubbed as the ‘Godfather of the iPod’.

Google is only one of a number of big companies which are developing ‘smart’ products for the home which can then be controlled from smartphones and tablets. Earlier this month Samsung showcased its vision of a 'smart' home at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Managing director of British Gas’ Connected Homes division, Nina Bhatia, said the interest of these tech giants was a good thing. She said: “More competitors in this space will do better for consumers. The advantage we have is we are in UK homes. Our engineers are walking into 50,000 UK homes every day. We have quite significant ambitions in this space – imagine if you left work and you’re smartphone knew that you were leaving and prompted you to turn off your heating.”

AlertMe’s chief executive Mary Turner said there was increasing interest in the company from telecoms and utility firms and would not rule out the sale of the company, saying AlertMe was “talking to big companies on an ongoing basis”. But Turner, the former chief executive of internet provider Tiscali, stressed that the firm was “considering all options”.